Educational Value of Social Media

Social media is constantly  thought of as a means to gather students for social purposes. Via the internet, students are able to connect through social media forums like Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace. Through these social media forums; students are given a way to stay connected, meet new people, discuss social issues, and learn about different ways of life. But, what if social media could also add helping students learn more effectively to the list? Incorporating social media in classrooms today are valuable because many of our students already know how to navigate it. Students engage in picture sharing, posting videos, commenting on friends timelines, and blog. These are all aspects of social media that teachers can use to reach students most effectively. 

I am including a social media page in my WebQuest that will allow students to post comments and interact with their classmates based on questions that I will be posting each day via Twitter. According to Taylor, King, and Nelson "Social media is internet based technologies that allow more free flowing communication among its users (Taylor, King, and Nelson, 2012, p.30)." This is one important reason for my decision to utilize Twitter for my social media page. Twitter allows multiple posts to be allowed from multiple people. Since my students are younger, we will use these posts as more of discussion pieces. But, parents can comment on anything that they feel should be added or how an aspect of our WebQuest could be better. 

I have decided to center our WebQuest around student exploration and discovery. Social media pages allow parents and children to discuss what we are learning in a more authentic way. The Twitter page that I am using can create a sense of community. As a result of the use of social media, students are more involved and more likely to become engaged in what they are learning. According to Taylor, King, and Nelson "a strong relationship between these 3 essential goals for classroom learning (i.e. students becoming more involved, pedagogy that improves learning,  and wanting to enhance meaningful learning) (Taylor, King, and Nelson, 2012, p.33)." These are the goals that I have designed for our WebQuest and hope that our students will gain an understanding of this to enhance their learning. Please feel free to visit my social media page on Twitter here. 

References

Taylor, R., King, F., & Nelson, G. (2012). Student learning through social media. Journal of Sociological Research, 3(2), 29-35. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1032658405?accountid=3783